Currently, an insured or potential customer (hereinafter the “insured”) must call an insurance company or carrier (hereinafter the “insurer”) to make an inquiry, modify an existing policy or report a loss. The insured will provide some preliminary information, such as the insured's name, policy number and the purpose of the communication, and then be instructed to gather and/or provide additional information specific to that interaction. The collection and processing of this information can be time consuming and complex, involving many manual steps and duplicative actions on the part of the insured and the insurer.
As a result, the known process of interaction of insureds with insurers causes extended timelines, claim backlogs and delayed resolutions to the communication, whether that entails forming a new policy, modifying an existing policy, settling a claim, coordinating subrogation or the like. It is known that such delays have numerous negative effects on the insurance system. For instance, the insurer's ability to capture a potential customer as a new insured and the satisfaction of the insured with the insurer is impacted, in part, by the length and complexity of the interactions. In addition, the insurer's liability exposure on a claim increases as the amount of time between filing and resolution of the claim increases. There is a need for a means of enabling insureds and insurers to interact in a faster and more streamlined manner.
The known interaction of insureds and insurers also consumes a significant amount of resources. In particular, the lengthy resolution of interactions diverts resources away from selling new business, improving the insured's experience with the insurer and improving the operation of the insurer. For instance, resources expended by the insurer on customer service and claim handling cannot be used to sell new business and retain existing insureds. As a result, there are few incentives to effectively perform customer service, claim handling and routine maintenance tasks. There is a need for a means of reducing the amount of resources expended by the insureds and, particularly, the insurers to interact with one another.
The known interaction of insureds and insurers also results in duplicative actions on the part of the insured and the insurer. In particular, during a typical interaction over the telephone, the insured verbally states information to a customer service representative, a claim handler or another representative (hereinafter an “agent”) of the insurer who transcribes the stated information, for instance, into a computer program. Verbal transmission of information is slow, inaccurate and can result in a negative experience for the insured. There is a need for a means of enabling the insured and the insurer to interact with less verbal transmission of information.
However, some verbal interaction is necessary and even desirable. The known interaction of insureds and insurers is verbally intensive and although some information can be gathered automatically or using a touch-tone phone entry system, such as a call directory or an authorization system, there is an inherent inaccuracy or degree of imprecision in these systems that must be corrected verbally. In addition, verbal communication provides an opportunity for personal contact that fosters loyalty and trust. There is a need for a means of enabling the insured and the insurer to interact in a more accurate and precise manner that emphasizes loyalty and trust building exchanges.
The known interaction of insureds and insurers also relies upon a variety of communication channels. Telephones play a central role in connecting the insureds and insurers, but are not capable of transmitting all required information. For instance, photographs of a loss, such as a car accident, and copies of invoices for repairs or replacements relating to the loss may need to be mailed through the post or transmitted via facsimile. Using a variety of communication channels increases the complexity of administering the information flow between the insureds and insurers. There is a need for a means of enabling the insured and the insurer to interact through a unified communication channel that can transmit all, or nearly all, required information.
The object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an improved system for connecting insureds and insurers, which, among other desirable attributes, significantly reduces or overcomes the above-mentioned deficiencies of prior interactions.